[topperbc]

We've been testing the Captur a couple of times now, and consider/plan buying the diesel with a touch screen. It just seems to be a great car for urban living.
However, I can't help but think there's a few flaws to the Captur which annoys me, as solving these would yield the Captur the perfect compact family city car.And I'm not refering to the so-so hard plastic quality, the seats which some feel is lacking support in the sides and lower back, or any other subjective criticism.

This is my list of Renaults not so smart decisions,

- the fitting of the Media Nav touch screen.In the Clio this is done very elegantly with a glossy plastic frame and a combined turn-dial button for volume and on/off. However, in the Captur the frame and buttons are matt - and taken directly from the Davia Sandero, in which this installation in fact looks much better. This hurts my eyes a lot when sitting in the Captur, and I find it plain stupid that the more expensive car gets the fitting of the cheapest one, and not the other way around.The fact the the USB/AUX is placed next to the screen, and not down next to the stick, I can easily live with as I'm planning on using the Bluetooth most of the time.



- the parking sensor for the Media Nav system being sound/beeps only. You have a seven inch touch screen, why not use it as done in e.g. the VW Up! and Peugeot 208. It makes much more sense to me to be able to see whether the obstacle is the the right/center/left of the car on the screen, and also to turn off the sound as I for sure will go crazy listening to the beeping when doing a parallel parking each night...

- the front passenger seat not being foldable. Well, it exists in the Clio ST Dynamique, so Renault can do it even for small not that expensive cars. The Ford B-Max also has it - but okay, it is mostly the more expensive estate and MPV models which offers this option. But it would just be so cool and make the Captur perfect from a practical point of view....

The former two flaws may of course be simply resolved by adding the R-Link and reverse camera, but still it should have been easy for Renault at least to add the nicer plastic frame to the Media Nav.

Have any of you - owners and prospectives - considering any of these shortcomings in the process of puchasing the Captur? And owners, after receiving the Captur have the things mentioned been a concern to any of you?

Have any of you found other flaws on the Captur? - simple things that if changed would make the car perfect.

Thank you!

 

[Ythsie]

Believe me...the list could be endless...It's what someone else said on the forum...you come with 'baggage' from other cars.. and it doesn't work like that!
You have the options that they give, and it's a case of what you can afford or what you need...you after all don't design the car.. although Renault has given you a lot of options for the price of the vehicle..which isn't all that much really.
There are things rhat niggle, that you mention, but you prioritise...for example, I wasn't impressed with Media Nav and wanted a goid sound system, Tom Tom, and reversing camera..so you pay your money and have your chouce..It's the same in any car...you don't have 'mix and match' options frim other models/makes.
They've struck the right balance I think, and so the Captur still gave me the most, for the least!!

 

[malcaptur]

topperbc, i agree with Ythsie .at the end of the day the choice is yours and there is always going to be a compromise. i think the car you want hasnt been designed yet , or ever will be!. malcaptur.

 

[topperbc]

Indeed the car I want has been designed - it must be a Renault Captur Dynamique with R-Link and reversing camera. It costs more, and in that lies my compromise... The lack of a foldable front passenger seat isn't a deal breaker, it would just have been such a nice addition.

It is just that Renault has made choices which I really do not understand - especially the ugly Media Nav plastic frame from the Sandero instead of the nice one from the Clio - and that's what makes me wonder... But apparently that is just me ....

 

[Frank Bullitt]

It all does depend on what you are used to and priorities - my A2 is being MOT'd today by Audi so I have a 63-plate Q3 2.0TDI S-Line which has to be close to £30k; however, it doesn't have cruise control (something my A2 has and I feel naked without), the parking sensors are audible only (which doesn't bother me as we don't have them on the A2 or C4 Picasso, my wife's old A2 had them but I'm not fussed) and the whole MMI interface seems to have been built for a geek (I'm 36 so not quite past it yet), I couldn't fathom how to operate the radio station selection (got there in the end) and still haven't worked out how to reset the DIS multi function trip computer; no doubt RTFM would help me. Oh, and the clutch is like a switch and the gearbox feels like it's already done 100k.

So for somebody coming out of a well-specified supermini some of this would seem bizarre but here you go; you pays your money...

 

[Frank Bullitt]

To add

I think one of the significant shortcomings of the Captur is the lack of a 1.2tce manual so I'm trying to decide if a 0.9tce will work as our main family car or whether I blow the budget for a 1.2tce EDC. I have a contact in Renault and sadly there are no plans to introduce one but late next year there will be a 1.5dCi 110 6-speed manual - great, if you want boat fuel...

 

[Ythsie]

I agree Frank...and the list goes on...it depends what you're used to, your taste/preferances, budget etc..
I love my son's S8...but Jeez.. was it worth the original price tag with extras of 75 grand?.. YES! to someone who had the money and wanted it! Is it worth the 20 grand it's worth 6 years on? Even more of a YES! . it has everything!!..BUT
.. would I want the fuel and upkeep costs?.. NO!!
So, I'm happy with my BUDGET priced, FIRST NEW CAR...maybe my last...at my age..with a warranty, reasonable running costs, confort, and COMPROMISES that I've had to make!
Not criticising your comments topperbc...appreciate them..but what you or I find attractive will differ...and there will be many on the forum, who will like the look and functions of, say for exanple, Media Nav.. and that was their choice by design or finances!
I might have chosen a different car IF I had the finances...but FOR VALUE FOR MONEY it was a good bet, and is proving to be fine after two and a half months..so it's a BIG thumbs up!!!

 

[Ythsie]

BLOW the budget Frank!! Honestly worth every penny in auto form and...here I'll get blasted by forum friends...the engine, gearbox and turbo is BETTER suited to the size and weight of the car!! If you're after economy, stick to the diesel, because your 0.9 engine won't get near it! Petrol wise the auto box is a dream in this car...it's the best thing about it..and you would be hard pushed to improve fuel economy IF they made a manual box in it.

 

[Frank Bullitt]

Problem is it's over £2k more in the uk which takes it from good value (0.9tce) to a bit expensive and playing with some bigger boys; I'm not that worried about economy (it will do 8kpa) and don't want a diesel again but rather than spending low £14's on a discounted 0.9 we'd be closing in on £16,500 for an EDC - between £15k and £15.5k I could justify...

 

[Ythsie]

Frank, if it was me I'd hang back a few months, and if you can wait, the price will come down or you'll get an ex-demo/pre-registered... I'm telling you...go for a test run in an auto box and judge it for yourself!!

 

[jonjohn]

Think you should check the med nav interior packs you can have different depending on what model, mine is gloss with silver trims, same as the clio .

 

[topperbc]

Your captur is a dynamique s medianav? Can't get that trim here in Denmark... But from the pictures i've found of this trim it also has the ugly frame - maybe Thise pictures were placed wrongly... But i will check if it possible to get the nice clio frame you are having...Edited by: topperbc

 

[Ythsie]

Surely your model is an Intens..and you should get it with that?

 

[thecookster]

Is he not talking about the actual MediaNav unit itself being matt black against the gloss black???

 

[TC Eddy]

Yes the Medianav has a matt frame and the R Link has a polished frame around it!

 

[bigbadtony]

am i the only one who actually likes the matt frame? so much easier to keep clean than the glossy black lol

 

[TC Eddy]

At first I wasnt too keen on matt........but now Im not bothered by it tbh.......

 

[bigbadtony]

me either TC...its not too bad a contrast

 

[thecookster]

Doesn't bother me - think the dashboard actually looks quite nice!

 

[Tyrfelin]

Hey mate! Go and buy a different car if you feel that way. I'm happy with my Captur thanks!Edited by: Tyrfelin